Gunman kills 30 at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech brings back memories for me. The campus is in the small town of Blacksburg in Montgomery County, Virginia. I spent the summer and fall of 1988 living in neighboring Giles County. We would occasionally spend our off days on the tennis courts on campus.

Word just reached me of the horrible news at this beautiful campus.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — "A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, in a classroom across campus Monday, killing at least 30 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, government officials told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll to 31.

"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified." It was not immediately clear whether the gunman was shot by police or took his own life. Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.

Gunman kills 30 at Virginia Tech shooting before being killed
By Sue LindseyAssociated Press

My heart and prayers go out to the families and those who witnessed this tragedy.

ADDENDUM:

I want to reference what Patrck Conlon said about this tragedy on his blog at Born Again Redneck Yogi.

"The really ironic tragedy is that VA Tech is a "gun-free campus" and a subcommittee of the Virginia Assembly killed a bill which would have changed that." Read More...

"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."

In February 2005 US Senator Larry Craig (Idaho) opined:

"To most people, it makes sense that General Motors can't be held responsible for the actions of drunk drivers, or that Louisville Slugger shouldn't be sued if a criminal uses one of their bats to assault someone. To some trial lawyers and social activists, however, this logic does not apply to firearms dealers and manufacturers."

I recently joked about the Swiss Army and their inability to keep their own borders straight. Nanc commented on that post about why the Swiss would even need an army since they are a neutral nation. Think about this. If Switzerland had no army at all would they even remain a country at all? Would the United States be able to remain sovereign if it was unable to defend itself. The right to defend oneself is intrinsic whether they are a great nation or an individual.